Flip Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Black) OLD MODEL
by Flip Video
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List Price: Our Price: $79.99 You Save: $70.00 (47%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $53.88 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Flip Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Black) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Camera performs well
Summary: 4 Stars
Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Black)
Overall, this camera performs quite well. With few controls and largely intuitive operation, it is difficult to imagine how a video camera could be easier to use. The small size, quick response when turned on, and its use of standard AA batteries make this camera easy to carry around and always have ready for unexpected moments. Both video and audio quality seem reasonably good for the price.
There are limitations, of course. The 2X digital zoom provides little flexibility in composing shots, and the soft pouch is largely useless because it fits so snugly that it is a chore to get the camera in, and difficult to remove the camera quickly when needed. However, the main limitation is the lack of removable memory. The Flip Ultra has 2 GB onboard memory (ca. 60 min) which is fine for casual day to day use, but if you take it on a trip without a laptop, then once the memory is full you have few options for further filming other than deleting previous clips. The manufacturer claims that users have not requested removable storage, but this seems to be a common complaint in reviews. It is possible to circumvent this limitation by using, for example, a Delkin USB Bridge ($40 from the manufacturer) and additional storage memory such as USB memory sticks. The Flip Video camera works fine with the Delkin Bridge, but the transfer is SLOW (USB 1.1 convention), and one cannot transfer selected clips. Rather, each transfer will include the entire contents of the camera at that time including the Flip software. It also requires buying the Bridge and additional memory storage, but this approach will work when a computer is not available.
The Flip Ultra basically does what it claims to do, and provided one is aware of the limitations, it can be an excellent choice that is worth the price.
Customer Review: Does not do what it is advertised to do!
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought the flip video camera because I loved the idea of being able to shoot video and then quickly and easily share my videos on youtube. The text in the product description says "Direct links to AOL Video and YouTube make it effortless to publish videos online", and it states on the box that you can upload videos directly to youtube. Since the software is built into the camera and doesn't actually install on the computer, you should be able to plug it into any computer with an internet connection and upload instantly. This would be great for vacations, etc. Unfortunately it doesnt work that way. I tried 15 times to upload a video to youtube and every time got the same error message after waiting for the upload process to reach 97%, which was several minutes. I contacted the manufacturer by phone, and they said they would send me an email that would solve the problem. The email states that the feature that allows direct upload to youtube in fact does not work and that they are aware of the problem. It would have been nice to know this before buying it since that is their main marketing point for the camera. The solution that they gave me is that I need to compress and save the video to my computer, then open it up and rename it, then open youtube, log in to my account, click on upload, browse my computer for the file, and then upload. I did this with two videos. One was successful. The other one only uploaded the first few seconds.
So my conclusion is that this camera does an unacceptably mediocre job of what it is advertised to do. If you want to just shoot video and watch it by plugging into your TV, and then erasing it, this camera does that very well. If you are buying it for its ease of sharing via the internet, don't believe the claims. The email from customer support said they are working on a solution. I wish they had worked on that before I paid $130 for a product that doesn't do what I bought it for. I may return it to Amazon.
Customer Review: Take and Share Family Video with Ease!
Summary: 4 Stars
The flip camera is ultra compact, simple, and super easy to use.
The buttons:
While the mino is the smallest of the flip cameras the buttons are the hardist to push because they are flush with the back of the camera. For winter or gloved activities I have found that I need to take my hand out of my gloves in order to work the camera where as the previous version the flip ultra had beefier buttons that were easier to push. Basic functionality of start reording and stop recording is handled with the center record button. Peripheral buttons allow for playback, file deletion, and zooming
The flip video turns on from a button on the size. It is well placed and easy enough to turn on but hard to turn on accidentally.
Video Quality:
I find video quality to be amazingly good. I try and resist the zoom feature of the camera which causes the video to become pixlated b
Sharing Video:
This is the best thing about the flip video camera. The USB adaptor just flips out with the push of a button allowing you to easily connect the flip to your computer. I use my Flip Video with StashSpace an online video editing and sharing service for secure private video sharing at high quality. They have a special add from flip video feature that makes adding your flip video clips very easy. All of the clips are automatically imported into a movie as unique scenes with custom thumbnails ready for you to share right away. Just click 'share'. The flip video and StashSpace make it easy to take video of your friends, family, and favorite events and share online.
I highly recommend the flip video camera and suggest going to StashSpace if you want to share the video with family and friends. These cameras are so small they are easy to take with you so you can capture all your family video memories.
Customer Review: Wait to buy until Pure Digital engineers get their software to work
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased three Ultras, one for me, two for Christmas presents. In my opinion, I would wait to buy this until Pure Digital gets their act together and has software that is compatible with all operating systems and that actually works. Their QA department failed miserably releasing this too soon with such a lousy software interface. I am having all the same issues other reviewers have mentioned. I can't download videos to my computer; software freezes and have to end task; Flip Video still shows "Connected" after disconnecting from computer and have to take out batteries to get it to restart (a real pain in the you know what) and I have the same issue others stated about starting and stopping recording. It often takes many presses to do either. I tried one of the other Flip Videos I bought and it was worse than the first one. It wouldn't even install the software. I received an error message shortly after connecting it to my computer. This is just too frustrating and I don't have the time (or patience at this point) and I don't want to send my sons' their Christmas present knowing that it won't work. I did write to Pure Digital and got a response back to send it back to them and they will repair it and retrieve my videos and send back. What a bunch of baloney! I just bought the dang thing plus two more for Christmas presents. Why would I want to take the time and effort to send it back to them and then probably have the exact same issue once again, as many of you have noted who have tried this already. Nope, for me, all three Flip Videos are being returned! I'll wait until Pure Digital gets their act together and has a software interface that has been thoroughly tested and actually works! The concept is great, ease of use is very nice; it's a neat little camcorder. I would have really enjoyed using it if the software worked correctly.Customer Review: Too Bad
Summary: 1 Stars
This camera has such great video clarity it's a shame it was thrown together and marketed before the bugs were out.
First issue is the onboard software. I could never succesfully load it on my PC. It states that some PCs don't need the software but when you try to open the AVI video files you will ge a NERO failure promt that the system requires an 'advctr.dll' file and that promt will cintinue to repop-up about 5-7 times in a row before it clears. To avoid this you must convert the AVI files to MPEG for viewing on Windows Media Player 9.0 or older. Even with newer WMP you still get the annoying NERO pop-up prompts if you don't convert the files. Oh and when you do convert, you will lose about 10% of the audio and video quality.
Second issue is system freeze-up. This camera will stop cold and have to be re-booted by either removing and re-installing the batteries or leaving the batteries out and jump starting the connection program by connecting to your PC with the USB cable. This seems to work.
Third issue is button function. On the Ultra model I had numerous failures with the 'Start/Stop' red recording button. It seems as though the pressure sensor quits working and you can push that red button til the cows come home and it won't stop recording.
These things said, I really hope they get the glitches fixed because dollar for dollar you can't find anything close to the video and audio quality at twice the price and I have bought and returned 3 other kinds of cameras in the same price bracket since I returned the Ultra.
I am now trying the Flip regular 30 min model and it has nowhere near the video quality of the ultra. Although the operating buttons are consistantly responsive, the same glitches in software and freeze-ups manifest in this model as well but not as often.